The Telling Room, the Portland-based literary arts education nonprofit focused on writers ages 6-18, celebrated its 20th anniversary Oct. 18 with its Paint the Town Read fundraiser at Brick South at Thompson’s Point.

About 250 guests – most of whom wore red – enjoyed a spicy Jamaican dinner from Yardie Ting, red-centered raspberry buttercreams from Dean’s Sweets, and cranberry red Moscow mule cocktails and mocktails playfully named The Brothers Cramamoz after Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov.” Guests mingled (or chilled in an Introverts’ Lounge), played with creative writing prompts, purchased Telling Room books and told “stories” about the Telling Room.

“It’s been incredible to stand here and see what The Telling Room has become because of all the people in this room and beyond,” said Mike Paterniti, who founded the nonprofit with fellow writers Sara Corbett and Susan Conley. “Twenty years ago, the idea seemed as simple as it is today, which is that stories bind us and give us meaning, and that a little after-school writing program can help create a safe, nurturing space to help young people – brimming with dreams and secrets and amazing stories – to find their voices.”

Since 2004, The Telling Room has served over 35,000 youths – the majority of them through free programs. The nonprofit has also published more than 200 books with works by 5,100 young authors (and is taking $20 pre-orders on a 20th anniversary anthology at tellingroom.org).

University of Southern Maine sophomore Nazik Adam was in the Telling Room’s Young Emerging Authors program two years ago when she wrote and published a novel called “Mint and Melancholy” about a Sudanese family like hers living in Portland.

“I’ve always been a writer; it’s how I process my emotions and stay connected to Sudan,” said Adam, who was born in Portland. “I wrote to process something that happened in my life, but I didn’t want it to be completely true, which felt invasive. So I created a character that I could relate to, and a lot of the other characters are based on family members.”

Another Telling Room alum, Lily Jessen of Cape Elizabeth, has been an avid writer as long as she can remember – going back to her crayon days. She first joined The Telling Room’s online fiction and poetry programs in 2020 when she was in sixth grade, and she eventually made her way to the in-person classroom on Commercial Street.

“Suddenly, surrounded by a huge group of endlessly enthusiast teachers and finally with access to the resources to truly improve and publish my work, telling stories wasn’t an odd hobby or a career dream, it was a reality,” she said.

Jessen’s novel, “The Pipe Tree,” was picked up by Stone Soup Publishing when she was in eighth grade.

She said, “It’s because of the Telling Room that the little girl who ground poems into her notebook with crayons gets to be what she always wanted to be: an author.”

Paint the Town Read raised over $45,000, including $5,000 in gifts made that night that will be doubled, thanks to a $100,000 match that is part of The Telling Room’s goal to raise $200,000 by the end of 2024.

Amy Paradysz is a freelancer writer and photographer based in Scarborough. She can be reached at amyparadysz@gmail.com.